Reagan gives his view of education decay

Press, 6 July 1983, Page 6

Reagan gives his view of education decay

NZPA-Reuter Los Angeles President Ronald Reagan yesterday blamed drugs, sexual permissiveness, violence in American society, and the banality of television for poor United States education standards. Addressing the American Federation of Teachers, Mr Reagan also accused the National Education Association, a rival organisation and critic of his policies, of trying to brainwash children with anti-Government propaganda.

His attack on the association appeared to be based on a booklet issued by the group calling for a nuclear weapons freeze. Mr Reagan, who is modernising American strategic forces to meet what he views as a growing Soviet military threat, strongly opposes a freeze. Without mentioning the booklet, he said that he commended the federation for its “ringing condemnation of those organisations who would exploit teaching positions and manipulate curriculum for propaganda purposes.”

“You stand in bright contrast to those who have promoted curriculum guides that seem to be more aimed at frightening and brainwashing schoolchildren than at fostering learning and stimulating balanced, intelligent debate.” He appealed to the federation to endorse his policy of reducing Federal aid to schools and putting primary responsibility for improving education on local officials and parents. Mr Reagan has not yet announced whether he will run for re-election next year, but his stand on the educational system has made education an important issue in the early stages of the campaign. He said that teachers were fighting a lonely war because of problems they could not control and urged acceptance of a recent report of a Presidential commission on excellence in education, which said that American schools were in the midst of “a rising tide of mediocrity.” The commission called for hard work, more discip-

line and homework, and a return to the basics of writing, mathematics, and science.

Mr Reagan, opposing demands from a Democratic Presidential contender, Walter Mondale, for JUSII billion in more Federal aid for schools, said that the answer was more local participation, not more Federal money.

“It wasn’t you, the teachers, who created and condoned the drug culture, sexual licence, and violence in our society. It wasn’t you who encouraged the banality of television over the beauty of the written word. “And it wasn’t teachers who asked for a ‘Washington knows best’ attitude that too often showered you with rules, regulations and uniformity,” he said. Mr Reagan pressed his drive for less control and money from Washington, despite a poll by the “Los Angeles Times” newspaper which found that most Americans oppose his programme for reducing Federal funds for education.